Reaching Out for Those Coming Out

Gays and lesbians who want to come out of the closet on Friday--National Coming Out Day--can call an Orange County talk line: (714) 975-0866 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The line is sponsored by Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Detail Public Relations and ECCO.

Ongoing-support lines include the Orange County Federation, (714) 450-3113; Casa Delhi Entre Hombres, (714) 568-0496; Gay Vietnamese Alliance, (714) 449-8027; and PFLAG, (714) 997-8047.

National Coming Out Day began in 1988. This year’s observance comes on the heels of two studies suggesting that coming out may have health benefits for some.

Research done at UCLA found an elevated physical health risk among gay men who conceal their homosexuality.

In the study, conducted by Steve W. Cole, a postdoctoral scholar at the UCLA AIDS Institute and Norman Cousins Program in Psychoneuroimmunology, followed 222 homosexual men, all HIV-negative, for five years. He and his team found that the incidence of cancer and sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia “increased in direct proportion to the degree to which participants concealed their homosexual identity.” The study is published in Health Psychology.

In another study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Cole followed 80 HIV-positive men for 10 years. Those who were closeted became sick with AIDs and died sooner than those who did not hide their orientation.

But “we’re not suggesting everyone should come out of the closet,” Cole says. “For certain individuals, being in the closet may be less stressful than being out and exposed to social rejection.”